The present invention relates generally to mops, and more particularly, to a wet mop with a handle and a mop head made of absorbent strands or the like, which mop head is releasably attached to the end of the handle at its bottom end, and to a handpiece that can be moved relative to the handle at its top end.
For cleaning floors, stairs, and the like, increasing use is being made of wet mops. Wet mops are a significantly easier way of working. More and more frequently, wet mops with mop heads that can be wrung out by mechanical rotation relative to the handle are being used.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,710,190 shows a wet mop that allows mechanical wringing of the mop head. The handle of the wet mop is surrounded by a pipe-like sleeve. The sleeve has a handpiece that is attached to the top end of the mop head. The bottom end of the mop head is attached at the end of the handle. The top half of the handle is provided with a helical groove and has another handpiece. To wring the mop head out, the sleeve is held tight with one hand, while the handpiece on the handle is moved toward the sleeve with the other hand. The helical groove causes the handle to rotate. This wet mop has the disadvantage that the mop head reaches the floor only with its bottom strands, and that the wringing process takes place only by rotation of the mop head. The distance between the mop head ends is always the same, so that if the strands become longer, e.g. when they are wet, it is no longer possible to wring them out completely. This is particularly true since the handpiece on the handle can impart only a predetermined number of rotations to the handle before the handpiece hits the sleeve.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,230,101 describes a wet mop head that allows the strands to be folded in half. For cleaning use, the attachment parts for the ends of the strands lie directly next to one another, and the strands are doubled up in loops. The handle has a handpiece that can be moved along the handle. The top end of the mop head is attached to the handpiece. The handpiece has a ball that is guided in a groove in the handle. The groove has a first segment that runs in the longitudinal direction of the handle, followed by a helical segment. A rotatable knob is affixed to the top end of the handle. Thus, the handle can rotate if the handpiece is pulled upward and engages in the helical groove. For the wringing process, the handpiece, with the top end of the mop head, is first pulled upward, while the handle remains in the rest position. Then the ball of the handpiece gets into the helical part of the handle, and the handle begins to rotate. When this happens, the second hand of the person using the mop must hold the rotating knob at the top end of the handle. In order to carry out the wringing process, the handpiece and the knob, which are quite far apart, must both be held by the person using the mop, and the handpiece must be pulled upward. This action cannot be performed without difficulty.
An object of the present invention is to create a wet mop with an easy wringing process. Another object of the invention is to create a mop where the water is wrung out as completely as possible.
These objects are achieved with a wet mop that has a handle with a helical groove. The helical groove is in a top first partial region of the region covered by the mop head in its extended, stretched position. A guide element of a handpiece is guided in this groove. The handle has a lower second partial region below the first region. The lower region releases the guide element and therefore also the handpiece. The handle is fixed in place and the mop head is stretched, subsequently twisted, and finally compressed by the movement of the handpiece along the handle. The length of the path that the handpiece must follow is at most the length of the stretched mop head. Thus, rotation of the handle is avoided, and the hand holding the handle can hold the handle approximately at the height of the handpiece when it is pulled up.
The handpiece is preferably made in two parts. The first part is a first inner sleeve that is equipped with the guide element and an attachment device for the top end of the mop head. The second part is an outer holder mantle that surrounds the sleeve so as to rotate around it. The handpiece performs two functions. First, the sleeve holds the top end of the mop head. Second, the sleeve rotates when the handle is moved in the direction of the end of the handle. The guide element causes the rotation. The sleeve with the attachment device for the mop head can rotate relative to the holder mantle.
A ball held captive in the wall of the sleeve, that can be radially shifted, can be used as the guide element. In order to prevent uneven stress on the sleeve, the helical groove can be formed as a double helix and two movable balls can be arranged in the sleeve, opposite one another.
In a preferred embodiment, the holder mantle can be axially shifted relative to the sleeve only within certain limits. The axial shifting locks or releases the guide element. This ensures that the rotation of the top attachment device for the mop head can be controlled at will. For example, if the holder mantle is moved upward relative to the sleeve, the guide element is released, while if the holder mantle is shifted downward, the guide element is locked. If the handpiece is moved from its bottom position upward, the holder mantle first moves along a limited path and thereby releases the guide element. The holder mantle then moves the sleeve and the handpiece slides over the partial region with the helical groove without the guide element being guided in the groove so that the sleeve and therefore the attachment device for the mop head do not rotate. All that happens is that the strands of the mop head are pulled lengthwise and stretched in the axial direction. A spring-assisted stopping element is provided on the handle, holding the sleeve in its top end position. This top end position of the sleeve can be limited, by a stop. If the holder mantle is moved downward from its top position, the sleeve at first remains in its top end position, held by the stopping element.
If the holder mantle reaches its bottom end position on the handpiece, and thereby has locked the guide element in place, pressing on the handpiece again causes the sleeve to be stopped, and causes the sleeve to rotate via the guide element guided in the helical groove. The rotation of the sleeve and therefore also of the one end of the mop head is continued until the guide element leaves the helical groove again, at the bottom. The pitch of the helical groove can be structured in different ways to achieve the desired wringing effect.
The partial region provided with the helical groove has a larger diameter than the handle. Therefore, as soon as the guide element has left the partial region with the helical groove, the sleeve can rotate freely, although the guide element is still locked. This allows compression of the mop head without any required additional rotation. This provides a particularly good wringing effect.
Preferably, a free region with a smaller diameter is provided above the helical groove, allowing rotation of the sleeve at any time, and also permitting the sleeve to be locked in any rotational position. The free region can be an annular groove that holds the guide elements during the locking process. The top end of the helical groove has funnel-shaped openings to direct the guide elements into the helical groove.
Preferably, the attachment device for the top end of the mop head has a greater radius than the connection location for the mop head on the end of the handle. In the position of use, the strands then lie on top of one another, in advantageous manner.
The mop head according to the invention is very easy to handle and allows reliable wringing of the mop head.
Proceeding from the position of use of the wet mop, its function will be explained below. In the position of use, the handpiece is in its bottom-most position. The attachment locations for the ends of the mop head are adjacent to one another and the mop head forms loops that hang freely downward. To wring the mop, the handpiece is pulled up. Upon being pulled up, the holder mantle shifts relative to the sleeve surrounded by the holder mantle and the guide elements are released. The guide elements can therefore move radially outward in the sleeve wall. The guide elements, however, are prevented from falling out by their holder devices in the sleeve. If the handpiece is moved further upward, the sleeve moves with the handpiece. The top end of the mop head, which is held on the sleeve by the attachment device, moves with the sleeve. The guide elements then lie within the sleeve wall. The handpiece, along with the mantle and the sleeve, slides axially over the second partial region of the handle, and then over the first partial region that is provided with the helical groove, and finally they reach their top end position. The sleeve is then axially stopped on the handle, but can be rotated freely in both directions of rotation. The strands of the mop head are stretched and aligned approximately parallel to the direction of the handle. If the handpiece is moved downward, first the holder mantle follows the hand movement, and the guide elements are locked in the sleeve by being pressed radially inward by the inside wall of the holder mantle. Upon further downward movement, the sleeve is released from its stopped position, the sleeve is taken along by the handpiece, and the guide elements are introduced into the helical groove via the funnel-shaped groove openings. The sleeve and therefore also the attachment device and the top end of the mop head are rotated by the guide elements that slide in the grooves. The rotation follows the predetermined helical groove, which is designed for two to three rotations. This number of rotations is generally sufficient to cause the strands to be wrapped tightly around the wet mop handle. The amount of possible rotation is facilitated by the fact that the holder device for the top end of the mop head moves toward the end of the handle at the same time as the rotation, so that the distance between the two attachment devices for the ends of the mop head constantly decreases during the rotation. The helical groove is designed in such a way, in terms of the number of its windings, its length, and its pitch angle, which can be different over the length of the helix, that the wringing process is essentially complete at the end of the helical groove.
The handpiece can be pushed further downward, into the lower, second partial region of the mop handle. The mop head is then no longer being rotated. However, it is subject to additional compression, which allows any remaining water to be additionally pressed out. The length of the second partial region is selected so that it approximately corresponds to the length of the handpiece. The diameter of this partial region is equal to or less than the diameter at the bottom of the groove. Although, the guide elements are still locked, the sleeve can freely rotate on the mop handle after the guide elements leave the helical groove. After the handpiece is let go, the mop head loops attempt to return to their original position, simply due to their weight alone, and the wet mop can be used for cleaning again.
The overall process, including pulling the mop head strands tight, rotating the strands for the wringing process, and pressing out the strands, takes place by a single back and forth movement of the handpiece.
This embodiment provides an advantageous additional effect. After completion of cleaning activity, the mop head strands are pulled up and tightened by pulling up the handpiece and stopping it in its top position. If the wet mop is put away in this position, the mop head strands are accessible to the air from all sides and can dry well.